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When Pope Benedict XVI commented on Islam in an address at the University of Regensburg in Germany on September 12, he quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said, "Show me what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." The pope did not originally dissociate himself from the citation, and the media quoted it out of context. Then Muslims in various parts of the world responded violently, killing Christians and burning churches.

Yet not all responses from Muslims have been violent. A group of 38 Muslim scholars from around the world tried to bring the encounter back to the academy through an open letter to the pope. (Text available at IslamicaMagazine.com.) The Muslims who signed the open letter include grand muftis who are authorized to make legal decisions for Muslims in their countries. Other signers are professors at major universities in the Muslim world and the West who influence the rising generation of Muslims. The opportunity to engage with them is significant.

Notwithstanding the ugly headlines, attention to Benedict's speech and the events that led up to it can aid productive dialogue between Muslims and Christians. And the stakes could not be higher. Our religions together represent more than half of the world's population. Members of each community blame the other side for conflicts, both ancient and contemporary.

Dialogue, however, presents us with an opportunity to hear Muslim concerns and express our own—such as our desire for greater religious freedom. And dialogue can lead to results. When my wife and I led a church in Afghanistan, a Christian family was imprisoned for distributing Gospel portions. We were able to win their release by showing the authorities that the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book, actually affirms the Bible. And when pastoring an international church in Saudi Arabia, we successfully argued that Christian worship services should enjoy greater liberty by noting the freedom that Muhammad granted Christians in the city of Najran.

These moderate leaders are contending for the soul of Islam. By responding thoughtfully to their letter, we can reflect the words of the biblical prophets to "seek the peace of the city to which you have been taken"—and the words of Jesus, who said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." We Christians need to try to see issues from the vantage point of these Muslim leaders and respectfully allow them to define their own faith. In so doing, we will commend our faith—and our Savior—to them.

The 38 Muslim leaders took respectful issue with several of the pope's points, drawing attention to what they called "errors" in the Regensburg lecture.

1. Suggesting that Islam is tolerant only when tactically necessary, Benedict attributed the qur'anic verse, "There is no compulsion in religion" (2:256), to the first period of Muhammad's ministry, when he "was still powerless and under threat." The Muslim scholars, however, said that reliable qur'anic commentaries place the saying in Muhammad's second period, when Muslims were in a position of strength. Indeed, it is important to look at the historical context (what Muslims call "the occasion of revelation") when interpreting qur'anic passages. In this light, we need to recognize that many of the peaceful references do indeed come from Muhammad's earlier period, when he was primarily preaching a message that had parallels to the biblical prophets. His latter period, however, involved a message that was combined with political and military power.

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February 2007, Vol. 51, No. 2